Glossary

Unitarian

A member of a religious group, often a branch of Christianity that does not believe in the Holy Trinity.

Vested

Rights from legal ownership of a property are acquired by a person.

Voided

Canceled.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

a law that outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopted in many Southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.

War of 1812

A war fought between the United States of America and its Native allies against Great Britain and its Native allies in British North America.

Watergate Investigation

Investigation of a White House political scandal that came to light during the 1972 presidential campaign, growing out of a break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate apartment-office complex in Washington, D.C. After congressional hearings, President Nixon resigned in 1974.

West

Until the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the west meant land west of the Appalachian Mountains but east of the Mississippi River, making states such as Kentucky and Illinois the most western in the United States.

West Ford Washington

A formerly enslaved person by the Washington family who inherited family land. He sold the land to buy a larger piece that became a free black community known as “Gum Springs” in Virginia.

Wharf

A structure on the shore of a harbor used by ships to load and unload cargo.

Whig Party

The conservative political party founded in 1833 by Henry Clay that opposed Andrew Jackson and Jacksonian Democracy.